President Trump is expected to announce an executive order addressing the chaotic airport security lines caused by TSA workers not being paid due to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown. According to Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, nearly 500 agency employees have quit during the shutdown. Callout rates are reaching 40-50% at some airports, resulting in extremely long wait times for airline passengers to reach their gates. Acting TSA Administrator Testifies Before Congress – Nearly 500 Employees Quit, Some Officers Resort To Selling Blood And Sleeping In Cars The Hill explained further: Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said Thursday that he’s holding off on offering a bill on the Senate floor to pay TSA workers during the partial government shutdown because he expects Trump to make a major announcement Thursday afternoon. “If the Democrats do not accept our latest offer, I would not faint with surprise if you heard from the president of the United States with his thoughts this afternoon,” Kennedy told reporters. Kennedy said he doesn’t see any chance of Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) accepting a deal to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). “There is no way in God’s green earth that Sen. Schumer is going to sign off anything that is construed as helping ICE. He’s not,” Kennedy said. “We need to stop looking reality in the eye and denying it.” Earlier this week, Trump deployed ICE agents to help TSA at over a dozen airports across the country. He has also considered using the National Guard. Here Are The Airports Where ICE Agents Will Help TSA More from Mediaite: NBC News senior national political reporter Sahil Kapur reported on the possible breakthrough, posting that Kennedy ” says he may champion a standalone bill to fund TSA.” “I’m thinking about just going down to the floor and making a motion under unanimous consent. Just open, just pay TSA,” Kapur reported Kennedy had said, adding that the Louisiana senator was unsure if Thune would be on board and that Senate Republicans have “resisted” such deals so far. Several Democratic Senators tweeted their support for a TSA standalone bill. Punchbowl News senior congressional reporter Andrew Desiderio noted that Republicans “have objected to this approach on the floor for several days in a row,” but are “split” on it. The idea was discussed at Wednesday’s Senate GOP lunch meeting, Desiderio added, with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) broaching the topic. Shortly after reports began circulating about Kennedy looking at a TSA standalone bill, several media outlets reported that Trump was considering issuing an executive order that would purport to accomplish the same thing.